Delicate Topic - Whats the best thing for constipation

Sometimes a strong cup of coffee does it for me but if it doesn't, I haven't found anything else that will that doesn't involve laxatives.

Try warming your prune juice.

Moving helps. Get a little more exercise and see if that helps.

Meat is very constipating. Maybe try other sources of protein. And make sure you're getting enough fat.

Since I only get constipated when my fiber dips down I find taking it back up to my usual level tends to resolve it in no time. Given you are doing low carb I'm not sure any of my remedies would work for you since all of them and quite high in carbs like dried fruits (especially dried figs and prunes), bran, oatmeal..etc. I find that I need a mix of both soluble (to pull moisture and bulk) and insoluble (to help things along) works best.

Are you eating enough fat? A low carb diet without enough fat will do that to you so increase your fat percentage.

Edit: I just googled the ABC diet plan and the name alone is very worrying. ABC stands for Ana Boot Camp and the days range between 500 calories and total fasting for 8 whole weeks. It's understandable why you have issues. Not enough bulk to move, not to mention this diet is very unhealthy and may lead to health issues, not to mention cannibalizing your muscles which will leave you looking skinny fat. I doubt that's your goal.

Make sure you are drinking enough water

@JannyH2 is this the ABC diet you are doing?

http://dietchoices.com/diet-plans/ana-boot-camp-abc-diet/

Background
The Ana Boot Camp (or ABC Diet, not to be confused with Robert S. Wieder's ABC Diet) is an internet diet meme passed around on forums devoted to pro ana (pro anorexia, a movement promoting anorexia as an alternative lifestyle rather than a disease).

What You Eat
The Ana Boot Camp Diet is a simple 50-day schedule listing the number of calories that the dieter is advised to eat. Calorie levels range from zero to 500 calories (one day only lists 800 calories), in an apparently random pattern.

Dangers
Ana Boot Camp supplies very few calories, only a fraction of the calories even than the Master Cleanse, which is considered by many to be a virtual fast. And the Ana Boot Camp is 50 days long, whereas most Master Cleansers don't continue for longer than 10 or 12 days. Thus the Ana Boot Camp diet is potentially extremely dangerous.

The Diet's Theory
The diet is based on the concept of calorie shifting, a dieting theory born from the idea that when you reduce your food intake suddenly, your body shifts into "starvation mode," an evolutionary defense mechanism in which your body's metabolism becomes more efficient in order to cope with an expected shortage of food. By varying the number of calories each day you presumably trick the body into not realizing that it is being confronted with a shortage of food, thus preventing starvation mode.

Problems with Theory
The concept of "starvation mode" as applied to dieting is a myth. Although there is a grain of truth underlying the idea, the degree of efficiency that your body can achieve during a weight loss diet does not materially affect your rate of weight loss.

And in the case of the Ana Boot Camp, it's preposterous to think that your body would interpret days of 400 or 500 calories as "feast days" that would counter days of 100 or 200 calories. Every day of the Ana Boot Camp diet is a fast day.

The Ana Boot Camp diet will cause you to lose weight not through any metabolic hacks, but rather through simple lack of food. And it will do so at the risk of the dangerous side effects of long-term fasting, including loss of heart muscle.

movicol is a god send - however its prescription only

magnesium citrate

JannyH2 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

@JannyH2 is this the ABC diet you are doing?

http://dietchoices.com/diet-plans/ana-boot-camp-abc-diet/

No not that (ANA) one the other with food combining of certain foods, most of which are low in calories and carbs

How many calories are you eating per day and how tall are you?

Firstly, increase these in your diet.

fat intake, fiber intake (both veggies and try metamucil?) , water intake.

Then, if it's still not working, add some coffee, laxative type teas, magnesium, or a laxative. I don't suggest you do this first simply because i know it can be easy to become dependent on these items to go. Better to see if you can fix the problem with your diet first.

I am with the others that say what you're eating isn't right. Your body is trying to tell you something. You need more fiber. I started taking aloe vera (concentrated) a year ago. I take a tablespoon mornings, as soon as I get up and another just before bed. I have been "regular" ever since. It also makes my skin nice. However, I'm eating the mediterranean way--a little of everything, lots of fruits and veggies, so that makes a difference. Good luck, but is this how you want to pass the rest of your life?

I would make sure you are getting enough fiber, try a cup of strong coffee, or a heating pad will work sometimes too. otherwise, I've heard magnesium citrate works wonders

Anything I say will be totally redundant at this point since others have already covered this territory but... Yes, WARM/HOT liquids DO actually help to stimulate 'movement'. Also, exercise is a great stimulant. AND... reducing the amount of red meat in your diet could help.

The thing is, everybody's body responds differently to different stimuli. (That's why your physician will write you a prescription and say, "Try this".) So... Try this. Drink hot tea/coffee/prune juice/lemonade... whatever your drink of choice (though the caffeine in tea and coffee do tend to have a laxative effect as well.)

Also, if you are not getting enough fiber in your diet, there is nothing to compact the waste matter in your bowels and move it through the intestines and colon.

Anatomy lesson: the colon is a tube which, when not 'inflated' is flat (think of those water hoses that shrink flat when there is no water in them. That's your colon.) When your body processes food through digestion, most (not all) liquids are filtered through the liver and into the kidneys and on to the bladder and urethra. The solid matter waste is passed on to the intestines and the colon. Now, the problem here is, if there is not enough fluid in the system, there is not enough liquid in the intestines to keep that solid matter moving. It becomes drier and, potentially, impacted in the bowels. Constipation! So, obviously, the first thing you need to be attentive to is getting enough liquid into your system to help that matter pass. But, you also need to be sure that your are getting the right kind of liquid!

Sugary drinks tend to dehydrate more than hydrate. So stay clear of the sugary soda pop and other such drinks. (btw, some studies suggest that most artificial sweeteners react in the system the same way so, switching to diet soda is not really helpful in this respect.) The warmer liquids, for some reason unknown to me, also tend to stimulate movement and caffeine does have a known laxative effect.

The next point is, if there is not enough fiber in your system to bind the matter and give the muscles in the wall of the intestine something to 'grab' onto, this, too, will slow down the process of digestion.

Lastly is the exercise factor. Exercise can step up your metabolism which, in turn, will serve to 'step up' everything in your body, including bowel movements.

So... What's the takeaway on this? Eat right. Reduce red meats (if only temporarily). Increase fluids, especially warm/hot drinks, and add a stimulant such as caffeine to your menu. Cut the sugars wherever possible, especially in soda. Increase exercise.

Hm. Sounds like pretty standard advice, huh? But, sort of like "smoking is linked to cancer and birth defects", people sometimes need to hear it a few times before it sinks in. ;-) Suggestion: try cutting out the red meats altogether for a couple of days; start drinking a cup of coffee or hot tea each morning (Green tea has the highest levels of caffeine, btw!); start running/walking a mile or two each day (preferable all at once but splitting it up is better than not at all.) and, if you are already in a walk/run cardio program, up the ante and increase your pace and/or distance.

Remember, any artificially produced medicine started with a natural, organic, grown in the earth kind of predecessor. Except aspirin, of course, which is, itself, a naturally occurring by-product of willow bark! (Native Americans used to chew it to relieve pain!) :-D So, if you don't want to take some artificial chemical laxative, there is always a natural chemical compound that came before it.

Hope you are 'up and moving' soon.

Try an over the counter Probiotic!

Bbeliever215 wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

I am with the others that say what you're eating isn't right. Your body is trying to tell you something. You need more fiber. I started taking aloe vera (concentrated) a year ago. I take a tablespoon mornings, as soon as I get up and another just before bed. I have been "regular" ever since. It also makes my skin nice. However, I'm eating the mediterranean way--a little of everything, lots of fruits and veggies, so that makes a difference. Good luck, but is this how you want to pass the rest of your life?

Aloe vera is great! I forgot about that one but it is important for the op to really research a quality brand because there are many out there that aren't anything other than sugar water with little specs of aloe vera.

I've also heard it's good if you are prone to stomach issues like acid reflux, heartburn, etc when taken regularily

I can't believe no one here has yet suggested that old standard, Metamucil. If you find it hard to get enough fiber in your diet, as many do, it's perfectly amazing what a spoonful a day of fiber powder will do. Metamucil comes premixed in an orange-flavored version. If that sounds gross (I couldn't stand it personally), you can buy the active ingredient, psyllium fiber, in an unflavored version, and mix it with whatever you like to drink. If your local stores don't carry it, it's easily available online; I found mine on Amazon. It's amazingly effective in an extremely gentle way.

Give psyllium fiber a try for a day or three and see if I'm not right.